Dispensing carton



NOV. 15, 1949 PARKER 2,488,323

DISPENSING CARTON Filed April 18, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 15, 1949 c.PARKER 2,488,323

DI SPENS ING CARTON Filed April 1a, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov.15, 1949 PATENT "(D'F'FI CE ;2,488,3g3 msnE is egw-rgw Henry C.liarkenzwashingtonp. C. v w ie n fi -g$sria1bl -1%???3973 hingecoinciding with-and forming-part ofthe fold ofwsaid ;fi ap, said blankbeing divided by scoring lines into a central section adapted to-f ormthe-bottom of a'pouring spout and side sections adapted tojforrnsidewalls of said spout, said base being out-away at -either side of saidcentral sectionso that said sidewalls can be bent at right anglesthereto, a dispensing opening directly beneath and having-substantiallythe shape of said centralsection so thatwhen-said side walls are bentinwardly they can be-received-into said opening with the central sectionflush with the carton .top, Saidcarton top being also advantageouslyprovided with means forspreventing said dispenszing .spout from beingpushed all theway into lsaid dispensing .openingand. for holding saidside walls .in binding ,engagement when they a are 5 pushed into saidopening, t as well as with means gforraising said blank from thecarton-top about the'l'hinge asaxbase; all as lmore fully' hereinspatterset forth and. as claimed.

A largenumber "of dispensing tops forcartons have been developedortsuggestedin the art. In many of these the dispensing spouts ortroughsare formed byzbending a section of the top. In

most of these devices thehinges of the troughs are formed from, a flatportion of the top and,

while some are provided with means for preventing the edges of thetroughs-from slipping out-of the dispensing opening usually noprovision-is made for holding the troughs indispensing position '-or for'frictionally' retaining the troughs when folded into closed position.

I have found that a highly satisfactory dispens- Ving spout or troughcan-be'formed by suitably bending up a pouring spout blank whiohconsti-"' .tutes a flap or section thereof usually having asubstantially rectangular outline and using the fold of said fiap-asahinge, cuts-being provided along said fold at eithei side .ofthe. hingeand blank being separated by, scoring lines ,into' a central sectionadapted to form. the bottom of the spout and side. sections, adapted toform the side walls of said spout, the bases of the side sectionsbeingdefined by cutsso that saidsections a spout are cut away to make adispensingvopening, this openingehaving advantageoilslythe general.shapesof the zbottomhof thespQut sothat, when the sideslofzthespoutlarein upright posi- 5 tionzthese sides-can be received into thQED?!- ing openingtandthe spout foldedflush with the top. .of the box.Wh n i .7 i des re t 4 5 t spout 01; dispensing p rposesone of its sidewalls can be bent outwardly to a slight eigtentsothat 10 zitsaendzbearsagainst the box top at one side of the i. Qens; ls pe me thi 1 .915 5 thsp i perp ndicu a t h he t n e t Qon fi r e hinge firom autonia many nt'glosed positionf Sinc'the an mum 9 h fi I 4 v coring lines) tend tofold thespout sides utwariil'y, ther'isfconsiderable tion betwe n the ssides-and thesides of the qis eat as peei l he iih e sides are ng. Forthis reason the spout ttorn ot the-spout, the forward a '11s of theSpout should be cut 9 ightly at. them tips so that they will readilyenter the. opening. "It is also truethat in this e thespout canbelpushedall the. way into the eningjinto a position from whi'ch it isdiffic'ult reniovfi But. it rlatiyely simple to prevent helespoutirom beng pushed entirely into the pensi sbpeninei'lhis canb a co pl ed by e qfifir gvtogs ta qth topof h 09thg which e gages the bottomof the spout asit 6 th seams- -H v a va t eou a dj otclies ateither side 'of the i 1%Wall 7' h po l v k ,ay be ltapered at the top so that n -ide wallsv ofthespoutare' forced thereab nding' aetion' pgourswhich holds the spoutclosed pg ipiqn. T heforward end of the bottom of the Spout extends oyerthe tonguea'rid sti e 9 se b eadi e 's ie ngqpasition" by thrusting thefinger nail'between the I gtongu'e v the spent; bottomfand then lifting.along the lateral edges and toprof the blank, the

lt isgthus selen that my dispensingspout can be sed 'firnily, when' notr'i eeded;"that it can be I easily raisedinto 'p uring position and thatit can be held inthe latter position. 5 inyen on oan'be ex plained morespecifically by reference to the a'oooinpa'n'ying drawing which showsseveral embodiments of mydispensing box p vn. a a

Inthis showing,

L es-"11swea e View 9 e upper e t-P 3 a blank which when folded andpasted forms my box top,

Fig. 1a is a similar view of a slightly modified blank,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the top of the box before being opened,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the box top after opening with the spoutin pouring position,

Fig. i is a similar view with the spout in closed position,

Fig. 5 is an expanded view of the upper part of another blank which whenfolded and pasted forms a second modification of my box top,

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the box top after being opened but with thespout in closed position,

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the box after being opened with thepouring spout in operating position, I,

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the box top before being opened,

Fig. 9 is a partial view of a modified blank,

Fig. 10 is a rear side view of a box top which embodies the modificationof Fig. 9,

Fig. 11 is a partial view of a blank for constructing a further modifiedform of my box top, while Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a box topmade from the blank of Fig. 11 with the spout in pouring position.

' Like parts are designated in the various figures by like referencenumerals. Fig. 1 shows a blank consisting of the conventional front andback walls I and 2, respectively, and end walls 3 and 4. At one end ofthe blank the usual pasting strip 5 is provided. These various parts aredefined by the usual scoring lines, 6, I, 8 and 9, these lines beingshown dotted. The top of the box corresponding to the blank of Fig. 1has two end flaps shown generally at l0 and I I.

tangular shape but end flap IE] when raised and folded forms the pouringspout of the box. This flap is partly cut away from the end panel 3 ateach side of its base as shown at I2. The line I3 "between these cuts isscored and forms the hinge of the pouring spout. It will be noted thatthis hinge coincides with the folding edge of the box top. The flap isalso provided with two longitudinal scored lines I4 which are tapered insuch :fashion that the spout formed from the flap is wider at the basethan at its pouring end. These 'lines I4 divide the flap into a centralportion I5 which forms the bottom of the pouring spout ;and sideportions or wings I6 which form the side walls of the spout when thesewalls are bent downwardly along their scored lines.

The box top whose blank is shown in Fig. 1 may have a single side flapas shown generally at H.

This flap is provided with two pasting strips l8 and I9 which areadapted to be pasted to the side and end walls of the box at the inside,these strips being bent along the scoring lines and '2 I. The center ofthe flap IT is sufficiently large to cover the entire top of the box butis provided with a cut out which forms the pouring outlet and cooperateswith the pouring spout. It will be noted that this cut out is tapered atits edges in a man- ,ner similar to the bottom of the pouring spout andthat at its top it has two notches 22 and an intermediate depending lipor tongue 23, the notches being tapered to points at their tops. Thedistance from the points 24 to the base 25 of the cut out corresponds tothe length of the pouring spout, i. e. the length of fiap Ill. Thefunction of the notches 22 is to receive the upper or pouring ends ofthe side Walls or wings of the pouring spout, as is evident from theshowings of Figs. 3 and 4. Owing to the taperof the notches a bindingaction is produced which holds the spout firmly in closed position,while the lip 23 prevents the spout from being pushed all the way intothe in Fig. 2.

out out. The pouring end of the spout is engaged by the lip and notchesand held slightly away from the surface of the box top, thus providing aconvenient place to insert the finger nail when the spout is to beopened, as shown at 26 in Fig. 4.

The top of the box before it is opened is shown The two end flaps I0 andI I are on top and fit closely at their point of engagement. The cut-outin flap I! is beneath flap II] but is effectively closed by the latterwhich is pasted to flap I'I. Opening of the box is very simple. It isonly necessary to thrust an ordinary table knife beneath fiap Iii andabove flap I7 and to pry upwardly to lift flap I0 along hinge I3. Thisfiap is then hinged at the edge of the box along its scored line IS. Thebases of the wings are free due to the cuts I2. When the flap is raisedat right angles to the box top, it is then a simple matter to bend thewings downwardly towards the box top, in the manner shown in Fig. 3.These wings then fit in the pouring opening as shown. If the hinge at I3tends to make the pouring spout close up, this can be prevented byleaving one of the wings outside the pouring opening in which positionit presses against the box top and holds the spout in correct positionaligned with the end of the box. But the friction of the wings againstthe pouring opening is usually sufficient to overcome the closing actionof the hinge. The hinge at E3 is sufficiently strong to prevent thepouring spout from opening too wide. It is therefore evident that thepouring spout can be readily held in correct pouring position, i. e. atan angle of about 90 to the box top.

the top of the pouring opening and the pouring spout is seated in closedposition by pressing it against the box top. The notches bind the wingsin this position and the wings tend to spread out inside the box, asshown in Fig. 4 which also serves to hold the spout tightly in closedposition. But it can be readily raised by inserting I the finger nail inthe slit 26 (Fig. 4) and lifting to prevent the spout from changing itsposition and since the Weight of the material passing through the spoutis small. It is thus seen that thepouring spout remains fully effectiveuntil the box is empty.

In Fig. 1 the flaps which are pasted are shown stippled to indicate thepaste. In sealing the box thesealing strip is -fiist coated and-thebottom 315 closed in conventional manner. --Then after -tne' carton-isfi lled the flap -11 is coated with paste; the strips;i8 and'l9 are bentinwardly and pasted inside the box and the two-flaps l0 and H .5

arethen pressedagainst the flap l1 thereby closin g the box. Itisalsopossible to -fill the box th ough the pouring opening. In this oase'theist iri llfiien lfieiefimt ee e an v e in {Owing to the fact thatttheltopofiap=1:29,.of lathis -embodiment -is-larger than necessany to term Ithe pouring spout,-asomewhat-modified form of position, the boxis filledand then the top of= hinge andthe-wingslB arebent'downwardly,-the

fiiapll is coated and the iiaps l0 and: II pressed a ains i iSe exPQ ibe .e c ur pee Lthe undersidesofflapslfl and 1 {instead of the .e ,fl l1.

center portion' a forms- -the-bottom of the pouring spout as 1 indicatedin Fig. 7.

fihe ut. th eembe men is e e ed ly by; inserting the end of a, knifejust beneatlrthe :Theme ifietiw Q L is. l i quite Similar to PQnfi i rbtweeneeut rfifi en n thatlpf l'iig l exceptthat two side flaps ila and.11 .are employed. ,Both of these are provided with cut ou ts i 2 l aand; 2,8, of 1 the same shape as in Fig. I 1 but owing to the {absenceof pasting wardly. This swingsthe spout blank about the A ge 1 3a, afterwhich the wings'can' be readily qbentinwe dlrt term th sidewalls o t eeing spout. Thespeut is closed by compressing -o.s trip s these, cut outsa ee 0pen;ended. When the g h i l i hetthe inside the eu i ,boxis,closed these cut outs register, forming the pouring opening.Sincethereis double layer pf paper:therei-idpo needflof the reinforcingactionp1;ovided;by the pastingstrips l8 and IQ of Fig. l.

yrrer de p e s-t ieine 1 th .en li wh statutes what -migi1t. --be calleda, pouring spout sl lenk f .ee n mee tek sth mef thin flexible-sheet flpf fabric or plastic, such fi c ulos ieceteteupaet atth op of h lhlankzaits und e rtae h e d of t s sheet-protrudes fromthe end of the box whenthe spout blank is sealedandserves as a finger grip ;to raise the blank.wThissstrip shouldextend limostofltheqdistanceiacrossthe'top of theblank and 1:asufricientcdistaneetbeneath to prevent it from beingpulled. .oifg/beforethe. blank is lifted. ,After-theblank1-islliftedzthe stripcan be re- ,movedifrom the blankaor left ontoform a flex- 4" .ible end to: the spout. Sometimes aflexible end .isadvantageous. 'Ihebox= is sealed by first clos- :ing flap lla, then- 21-and finally llaand-lfla whichform the-top lof-i'il'ie-box as before.The

outer-end of-theopening strip- 5|) isleft outside i455 and is notpasted. The pouring spout-blank in this modification-israised'by pullingup on the ;strip; and then the spout isformed in the same manner as thatoff'ig. 1. ltis evident that the .medifie i nle 11 e ui ea l y smallerarea of paper board to cut out the blank.

Pigs. 5vto ashow a modified blank and box top wherein the pour ng spoutis at the front of the box ratheri than at yone end. The blank a is.iorrnedpf the isame front .and.end .wall panels as'be ore and isprovided with the usualside ,pastingstripj asiwell as thescored foldinglines L fi l a andfl. 'lhe-boxrhastwo. end flaps shown generally at'30tand iil and a-top side flap 29 Zwhich is su-fliciently large to coverthe entire toppf the;bo .v 'I he side flaps are tapered and we'ree e idtthet.w e n et i P s i :they leave a pouring opening 2| =.between their;are: OVi d@d-;with tabsggz zand 3 3-;w hic h are bent d wn d 1 1 8 :tsto e d ng l n T34 and 35,,andxthen 'pasted inside,- the: box againstthe side wa1l; 2;@ s ee:,Fig.;7. These, pasting strips ire n re g h ;fln '3 .;-.an a d pr ve them;

a sh w a re l de i wse lth l ex te l i med opening :2 i and then pushingthe spout in -flush wi h: t ex tqp- In the embodiment of; Figsx5 ;to 8,as described, there issorne danger that the spout will bepushed In thismodification special means are" D .ee ire v i h rw n opening Se that-1H8"t mean imag Pr ide fwlth n te uen tten ie ei an rewn wh n ,n es fin ith bo tese er r nehme ifie i i-Qn u zieb ee notches 22a, as isevidentirqrn Fig. 10, which ffie t e :It i e icienrrha th ended-t winete of th rq lfi lint the netehe when th vsrz h lo e Liha t eeenetleheendth tensi .Bfi .th t i .ve eet iut 1 1 3 .1 er Pr V-v tie th tro 2 3 en i se te te "i t m th p urin op n n In. the embod m nt e i s-1 w 10 ate h s inei n ed th tab i nfl ir yb e a e il dedev r and a t d neidethbQ .3 2 5 leere .th l eurin openin I ee eee o an th z see b fille throuh I thi eite whi h the. flee 4-3" Ma ie lie-en b eeete 'eedthetopfl n pess ,onth ep.

In Figseien .2 iwth vIneriif ea e is shown in which the blank isprovided with jiour top flaps. End flaps 39 and 410 are conventional butare advantageously of such length that, their ends coincide with theeutsjlibin the top flap .shown generally at QL thQ-Jatten covering the entire top of the box. The lower ,side fiap 42jis provided witha cut out2 I which forms the pewing opening. This cut outat the top is providedwith notches/22 l-and. tongue;23. as in the other modifications.vThetopl side flap M is cut at 36b and MD, the cutsu36b.beingvparallelin this. em-

bodirnent in order to form a rectangularspout blank. Thismakes-ritsomewhat easier to 1ift up the spout blank withaknife.

After the strip 5 is pasted, the two flaps 39 and G0 are-coatedand'folded. Flap lzis then pressed down to paste it. The box; is thenfilled through the pouring opening 2l and finally'the box! is closed bycoating the top of flap 42 and pressing flap 4! over it. This forms astrong top construction. The pouring spout is formed and closed in thesame manner asin; the other em- 'bodirnents.

While I have disclosed =whatgIl consider to; be

' the most advantageous modifications of mygdis- 7 "pens'ing carton, itis obvious, of course, that various modifications can be made in thespecific structures which have been described without departing from thepurview of this invention. In .order to secure the advantages of thisinvention it is only necessary to provide on the top of a box a pouringspout blank which has a hinge which preferably coincides with the foldof one ,of the top flaps, said blank having scoring lines defining thebottom and side walls of the pouring spout, and a pouring openingbeneath said blank having a shape corresponding to that of the bottom ofthe pouring spout, means being advantageously provided to prevent thepouring spout .from being pushed entirely into the said pouring;cpening. It is evident, of course, that directions can be given on thebox for the user'to cut away Lthe hinge of the pouring spout blank ateither sidei back to the scoring lines, thus eliminating the necessityof providing the cuts l2, l2a or no in the various modifications.Instead of cuts serving to outline the pouring spout blank, perforationscan be employed, if desired. And the cuts l2, [2a and HI: likewise canbe substituted byperforations, which would, of course, be equivalent tothe cuts. It is advantageous but not absolutely necessary for thepouring spout blank to have at least one of its hinge-free marginscoincide with one of the top edges of the box top, so that the blank canbe raised easily by thrusting the blade of the knife under the blank atthis point; otherwise an opening strip, such as 50, should be provided.When this strip is used the pouring spout blank can be placed, ifdesired, .even in the center of the carton top. And, of course, thisstrip, considered as a separate element, is convenient to employ in thecase of all types of pouring spouts which are formed from blanksconstituting'sections of carton tops. The directions for opening andfolding the pouring spout can be placed on this opening strip. In thecase of my dispensing box these directions can be made very simple,merely stating, for example. To open box, pull on this tab to lift flap,then fold flap into the shape of a pouring spout. To fclose, insert sidewalls of spout into pouring open- 3 ing and push the spout closed.Further modifications -of this invention which fall within the scope ofthe following claims will be immediately evident to those skilled inthis art. What I claim is:

1. A dispensing carton comprising a top flap .sealed to 'alower flap,said top flap comprising a pouring spout blank of substantiallyrectangular shape which is defined by cuts along its sides and acrossits top and having a base hinge I, coinciding with and forming at leastpart of f the fold of said flap, said pouring spout blank j beingseparated by folding lines into a central "section adapted to form thebottom of a pouring spout and side sections adapted to form the sidewalls thereof, said base being cut away at said fold on either side ofsaid central section at the bases of said side sections leaving saidbase hinge on said central section, said lower flap having an openingdirectly beneath and having the general [shape of said central section,said blank being I the said opening being adapted to receive the sidewalls of the spout to permit it to be folded flushwith' thecarton topthereby closing said opening.

2. The dispensing carton 'of claim 1 wherein notches are provided at thetop of said dispensing opening to receive the outer ends of the sidewalls of said pouring spout, said notches being tapered to provide abinding action when the spoutis closed.

3. A dispensing carton comprising at least two top flaps which aresealed one on top of the other to form the top of the carton, the upperof said flaps comprising a pouring spout blank defined by cuts acrossthe top and along the sides, said blank being divided into a centralsection forming the bottom of a pouring spout and side sections formingthe side walls thereof, said central portion being connected to the boxby a hinge at its base, which hinge coincides with the fold of saidflap, the bases of said side sections being defined by cuts, said lowerflap being provided with a dispensing opening correspondingsubstantially in shape to the shape of said central section but havingnotches at the top adapted to receive said side walls when the pouringspout is folded flush with the carton top, said notches being tapered toprovide a binding action when the outer ends of said side walls arereceived therein.

4. A dispensing carton comprising at least two top flaps sealed one ontop of the other to form the top of the carton, the upper of said flapscomprising a pouring spout blank adapted to be raised from the toparound a hinge at its base and folded into a pouring spout, said hingeconstituting at least part of the fold of said upper flap, said blankbeing separated by scoring lines into a central section adapted to formthe bottom of said spout and side sections adapted to form the sidewalls of said spout, said lower flap being provided with a dispensingopening directly above and corresponding substantially in shape to theshape of the bottom of said spout, a central protruding tongue at thetop of said opening mounted on a lower flap and adapted to bear againstthe bottom of the spout when the spout is folded into the opening withits bottom flush with the carton top, to prevent said spout from beingpushed all the way into said dispensing opening, notches being providedon either side of said tongue at the top of said dispensing openingadapted to receive the outer ends of the side walls of said spout andtapered to produce a binding action when said side walls are receivedtherein.

5. A dispensing carton having a top closed by two end and at least oneside flap, the end flaps being folded over and sealed on top of saidside flap, one of said end flaps forming a hinged pouring spout blankwhich is divided by scoring lines into a central section adapted to formthe bottom of a pouring spout and side sections adapted to form the sidewalls of said spout, the fold of said flap forming the hinge of saidblank, said side flap being provided with a cut-out forming a dispensingopening directly below and having substantially the shape of saidcentral section so that when the side walls of said pouring spout blankare bent inwardly at right angles to the bottom of the spout they can bepushed into said opening and a tongue mounted centrally in the top ofsaid dispensing opening with tapered notches on both sides to receivethe outer'ends of the side walls of said spout and to produce a bindingaction when said side walls are received therein.

6. A dispensing carton having a top closed by end and side flaps, thetop side flap comprising a pouring spout blank extending across the topof the carton and being defined by side cuts, with a base hinge formedat the fold of said flap, said blank being separated by scoring linesinto a central section adapted to form the bottom of a pouring spout andside sections adapted to form the side walls of said pouring spout, saidside sec-- tions being cut away at their bases adjacent said fold sothat they can be bent at right angles to said central section, adispensing opening directly beneath and having substantially the sameshape as said central section so that said side walls can be receivedtherein when the pouring spout is closed flush with the carton top, anda tongue mounted centrally in the top of said dispensing opening withtapered notches on both sides to receive the outer ends of the sidewalls of said spout and to produce a binding action when said side wallsare received therein.

7. In a dispensing carton, a pouring spout hinged at its base above adispensing opening, said pouring spout having a bottom section and sidewalls and having been formed from a substantially rectangular blankconstituting part of the top of the carton, said dispensing openinghaving substantially the shape of the bottom section of the pouringspout, a tongue mounted at the top of the dispensing opening adapted toprevent the pouring spout from being pushed entirely into the opening,said tongue being defined by tapered notches on either side forreceiving the side walls of said pouring spout blank, said notches beingtapered to provide a binding action when the outer ends of said sideWalls are received therein.

HENRY C. PARKER.

